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journo_gw

Wind damage to peas

16 years ago

Hey all,

First-time vegetable gardener here with a problem. Grew some beautiful sugar snap peas that have just started producing. Last night we had one vicious thunderstorm and this morning, a lot of my pea plants are bent over .. none appear to be snapped, just bent. I've got them growing through/against a two-foot high metal wire fence ... kind of like chicken wire but a little thicker (previous owners used the area as a dog pen). Pea plants are about five-feet tall. Some of the damaged ones are bent right over the top of the fence.

Is there a way to straighten the peas again? Do I need to bother or are the plants a loss?

The bummer is I was just about to start harvesting ... my very first harvest ever!

Comments (3)

  • 16 years ago

    This happened with my sugar snaps this spring too, and I just left them flopped over because I couldn't find a good way to right them again without ripping them apart, since they were so intertwined with each other. They went on to produce more peas than I could eat or give away, and some actually started to grab back onto the trellis and pull themselves up a bit. It was more trouble to pick them because I had to lift up sections of the plants to get underneath them, but it was worth it. So I wouldn't call your plants a loss, but trying to get them back up onto their support structure might be more trouble than it's worth and do more harm than good.

  • 16 years ago

    This year I made use of some concrete reinforcing panels left over from a construction job. For some reason the tendrils don't really want to hang onto the wire. One short row is on the west side of fence #1 and the second short row is on the east side of fence #2 since I figured the path between the fences would be my major pea picking path. Due to prevailing winds I started adding twine to keep the plants against the fences but I stopped too soon. Next year I will keep adding lengths of twine to the top of the fence. I thought one side didn't need more twine but on a real windy day they got blown over into the path. I did lose a couple of vines when I lifted the bunch but all in all I've ended up with a tremendous harvest. These are just two five foot rows. The panels are 8' long, longer than my original bed, so I added more garden bed and planted some samples of two new varieties of pods. My sugar snaps are the tall variety and are probably 7 feet tall. I have to reach way up to harvest the tops.

    Since your fence is only 2' high I don't think you can do anything at this point. You'll still get a good harvest, you'll just have to hunt harder for the peas. Next year put up a taller fence. My husband said these panels cost $20. He was trying to sell the leftovers for $10 on Craigslist but nobody wanted them so I lucked out. You might keep your eyes open for something like that. The panels are attached to metal stakes that are pounded into the ground. We'll probably leave them up all winter.

    My third panel was used for earlier Sugar Ann snap peas that are much shorter. I didn't trellis them last year and hated the way they grew in a pile. They're only 3' tall but I have some yard long beans started to take over the fence when I pull the Sugar Anns out.

    BTW my first pea fence was plastic garden netting and that was a mess after the first year. It worked but was too light to save for another year.

    If your plants didn't snap, just bent, they are probably fine. Some of mine split but healed. Most just bent a little but I was able to tie them back up.

  • 16 years ago

    Thanks for the replies. I went out last night with some twine to try to right some of them, but because a lot of the peas bent over the top of the fence, there wasn't really a lot I could do. There are a couple of splits but I'm inclined to just leave them. I harvested a good handful last night and this morning went out to have a look. Unless I wasn't paying attention last night, there are more peas growing today than before, so maybe not all is lost. I think I'm more irritated about them falling over because they looked so nice.

    I have to say I'm excited about my first harvest. There's actual broccoli starting to grow in the broccoli, more peas ... it's pretty neat! Thanks for the help. I appreciate it!